Officials certainly don’t receive the accolades that players and coaches get for their achievements, and that’s OK. But officials deserve acknowledgement for their achievements and recognition for their tremendous service. Officials associations can provide that for their officials. Offering awards and recognitions can help officials feel appreciated and motivated. Psychic-income is never a bad thing.
In order to reward officials, you need to determine for what you’re going to award them. An awards’ committee, criteria, the actual hardware and a time to recognize the honorees are also important.
Step 1 — Sell the idea. If you want to start recognizing member achievements, it is important for your association members to buy into the idea. You will likely be using membership dues to help pay for any awards you hand out, so the support of your members is a must-have.
Step 2 — Form a committee. Form an awards’ committee. It is an opportunity for current members to get involved. The committee could also include at least one retired official. The committee should include a good mix of individuals with a variety of perspectives.
Step 3 — Determine what to award and the criteria. Do you want to select an Official of the Year, honor those with the longest years of service, start a hall of fame or recognize members for outstanding years? Or do you want to do all of the above? It is important to determine what you want to recognize. After that, the committee should come up with a criteria for the award or awards, which should be communicated to the membership.
Step 4 — Select worthy honorees. Allow members to nominate worthy candidates for the association awards. When the committee has a list of potential honorees, it should vote to determine which individual or individuals will be honored. For recognitions, such as years of service, no vote is necessary. Multiple officials can be honored.
Step 5 — Make the presentation. The awards’ ceremony can be part of your annual meeting, an end-of-season celebration or an event all its own. Depending on the association’s budget, the honoree(s) might receive a plaque, watch or other momento. Be sure to alert local media so your association can get some valuable positive publicity.
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